


light of love

by OmgPandi



Series: Ferdibert 2020 Birthday Bash Fics [4]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Birthday Presents, Ferdibert Birthday Bash (Fire Emblem), Gen, Happy birthday Ferdinand!, Light of my life and the apple of my eye, M/M, Post-Black Eagles Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:13:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23922145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OmgPandi/pseuds/OmgPandi
Summary: “My apologies,” Ferdinand started, taking his own seat across from the man. His tea was already brewed and resting inside the teapot. “It would seem some of the diplomats staying in Enbarr caught wind of it being my birthday today.”“Gifts then?” Hubert asked, placing his cup down. “Or perhaps a way of earning the Prime Minister’s favor in hopes of better negotiations?”--or, amidst all the gifts Ferdinand had received, the last one is the most important one to him.Written for the Ferdibert Birthday Bash! Happy birthday, Ferdinand!! <3
Relationships: Ferdinand von Aegir/Hubert von Vestra
Series: Ferdibert 2020 Birthday Bash Fics [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1715971
Comments: 6
Kudos: 118
Collections: Ferdibert Birthday Bash 2020





	light of love

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY FERDINAND VON AEGIR AKA THE LOVE OF MY LIFE! My favorite cavalier in the franchise now I can't believe there was a time I wanted to slap him dsanhdkjsadhk
> 
> Takes place roughly two years after the end of the war! Everyone's doing their own thing and settling into their new norm now. Amanda's also just a random OC that's Ferdinand's assistant/secretary as Prime Minister. The final gift isn't really connected to anything in canon, but does have to do with my own thoughts on what was going on with the Aegir family post-Ferdinand's dad getting arrested for treason.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy! <3 It's kind of sappy towards the end lol Title comes from the Florence + The Machine song of the same name. The lyrics as a whole don't really fit the atmosphere of the fic, but it's a really pretty song,,,

“Good morning, Prime Minister,” his assistant greeted, a stack of documents on her desk. “Those reports you wanted just arrived, so I haven’t gotten a chance to look them over.”

“That will not be necessary!” Grabbing the reports, Ferdinand started walking towards his office. “You have a lot on your plate already, so I can look these over.”

The woman smiled, relief palpable as her shoulders slacked. “That would be wonderful, thank you Prime Minister.”

“Of course!” Opening the door, Ferdinand blinked in surprise at the sight before him. “Um-- Amanda?” She gave a questioning hum. “Where did all these flowers come from?”

“Flowers…? Oh!” Coming up from behind her desk, she held out a card for Ferdinand to take. “It must have slipped my mind-- Oh well. You see, those came this morning from the Albinean ambassador’s office,” she answered, gesturing to the variety of flower arrangements. “And while it’s on my mind, happy birthday Prime Minister!” She said cheerfully, clasping her hands together and smiling up at him.

Oh, Ferdinand thought. Today _was_ his birthday! He supposed that explained a lot now, especially the numerous smiles directed towards him by the staff on the way here.

“It must have slipped my mind,” Ferdinand admitted, feeling sheepish all of the sudden. “But thank you, Amanda, and please send my thanks to the ambassador’s office as well.”

“Of course,” she said. “Try to leave early today, sir! Today is meant to be a celebratory day after all!”

“No promises!” He exclaimed, earning a frustrated noise from the woman. He laughed, closing the door behind him and looked around the room more, sighing at the abundance of yellow and orange flowers in front of him. Placing the reports down on his desk, he ran his hand through his hair and sighed once more.

The flowers were a lovely gesture--one, no doubt, a slight attempt at currying some favor--and beautiful to look at… but what exactly was he going to do with all of them?

“As long as there aren’t any other huge gifts being sent…” Ferdinand chuckled, sitting at his desk and continuing with his work. Despite his expectation, the reports didn’t appear long or dense. If he worked at a good pace, then he would be just in time for his afternoon session with Hubert.

Smiling, he grabbed one of the reports and began reading, looking forward to what today’s afternoon tea would bring.

* * *

_“I believe I spoke it up,”_ Ferdinand thought, watching as the delivery service brought in tin after tin of his favorite tea leaves to his office.

Amanda, meanwhile, looked far too amused.

“From the Dagdan embassy,” she read, holding out the card for Ferdinand to take. “It appears to be another birthday gift.”

“So it would seem,” Ferdinand said, looking over the card. The only sentence on the card was _‘Happy Birthday, Prime Minister von Aegir’_ in clean cursive writing, matching the signature just underneath it. It was without a doubt genuine; he recognized the ambassador’s signature anywhere. “If you could send her office my thanks as well…?”

“Of course, sir,” she answered, amusement still clear in her tone. “Should I send something with the thank you card?”

“Perhaps some exotic spices from Almyra?” Ferdinand suggested. “I hear the Dagdan ambassador has adventurous tastes in food.”

Amanda nodded, writing the suggestion down a slip of paper on her desk. “I’ll have it delivered by the end of the day.”

“Excellent! Thank you,” Ferdinand said. Then, he turned to the delivery team and nodded to them. “And thank you as well for your hard work.”

“No problem, sir!” One of the men said. “Pleasure doin’ business with you.” Each of them bowed before following a guard down the hallway, chatting among each other and trying to get rid of the stiffness in their shoulders.

“Well I have an appointment to keep,” he said, turning his attention back to Amanda. “If there are any other… er… gifts sent to my office, then allow them to bring it in.”

“I’ll give you a fair warning when you come back,” she said. “Enjoy your tea date with Minister von Vestra!” She teased, giggling when she noticed the blush on Ferdinand’s face.

“It-- It’s not a date!” Ferdinand argued, pushing one of his strands of hair behind his ear. “It’s just a tradition!”

“Whatever you say, sir,” she teased, returning to her work and giggling as Ferdinand walked away and down the hall towards the Imperial Gardens.

* * *

“We’ve had a lot of foot traffic in the Palace today,” Hubert greeted, sipping a cup of his coffee as Ferdinand walked towards their usual table. “You wouldn’t happen to have any ideas about why?”

“My apologies,” Ferdinand started, taking his own seat across from the man. His tea was already brewed and resting inside the teapot. “It would seem some of the diplomats staying in Enbarr caught wind of it being my birthday today.”

“Gifts then?” Hubert asked, placing his cup down. “Or perhaps a way of earning the Prime Minister’s favor in hopes of better negotiations?”

“I would hope they’re not bribes!” Ferdinand laughed. “Although that tea from the Dagdan ambassador was quite expensive…”

“As long as Her Majesty doesn’t have to worry about her Prime Minister being compromised in any way, then all is well.”

“Edelgard has nothing to worry about!” Ferdinand exclaimed, beaming proudly. “It would take much more than my favorite tea leaves and bouquets of flowers to sway me!”

Briefly, Ferdinand thought he saw the corner of Hubert’s mouth twitch downward, but just as soon as he thought he saw it, it vanished. “Well that’s reassuring,” Hubert stated, grabbing one of the rolls in front of them. “As long as the gifts are kept to a minimum, I’m sure Her Majesty won’t have any issues.”

“Come now Hubert, that will hardly be my fault!” Hubert just hummed in response, earning a pout from Ferdinand. “It’s not my fault if I’m rather popular on my birthday!”

“Yes, yes,” Hubert said dismissively, smirking at the offended noise Ferdinand made. “While it’s on my mind… Happy birthday, Ferdinand.” Hubert said softly, looking almost embarrassed.

Ferdinand blinked in surprise, but grinned once he realized what the man had said. “Thank you, Hubert!”

“Finish your tea,” Hubert said, sounding embarrassed. “We have a meeting in an hour.”

“You say that as though it will take me an hour to finish this!”

“You have in the past,” Hubert grumbled, but it sounded too good-naturedly. “Best to not keep Her Majesty waiting.”

“Yes, you’re absolutely right,” Ferdinand agreed, nodding as he poured himself another cup. “...But for the record, it did not take me an hour last time.”

“You’re right,” Hubert snarked, the corners of his mouth quirking up into another smirk. “It took you an hour and thirty minutes. My mistake.”

“Hubert!”

* * *

The meeting with the delegation from Brigid had gone well in Ferdinand’s opinion. Slowly, they were working on finding a good resolution for both the Adrestian Empire and Brigid when it came to the matter of full independence for the archipelago. Dorothea, as the ambassador between the Empire and Brigid, was a helpful presence there when it came to smoothing over things with the group sent by Petra.

It was absolutely delightful to see her again, as well as receive a birthday gift from her in the form of two tickets to an upcoming performance at the opera house. She had greeted him with a warm, but quick, hug before the meeting actually started. It was a shame that Petra couldn’t be there as well, but Dorothea promised to extend Ferdinand’s gratitude for all of her hard work, as well as the gift he received days prior.

By the time he returned to his office, Ferdinand was in high spirits, although slightly confused about what to do with the extra ticket given to him by Dorothea. Her giggling answer and wink hadn’t been helpful either when he pointed it out to her.

“Welcome back, sir,” Amanda greeted with a smile. “How did the meeting go?”

“Rather well! I think we’ll be able to find a resolution within the next few months,” Ferdinand answered, stepping towards his office doors. Before his hand touched the handle, however, he turned to face her. “I won’t be expecting any surprises, will I?”

“None, sir,” Amanda answered. He would have believed her had it not been for the secretive smile on her face. “None of the other diplomats have sent a gift since you left for the afternoon.”

“Hmm,” Ferdinand hummed, narrowing his eyes in suspicion at her. “Somehow I don’t think I believe you.”

“It’s true!” Amanda argued, faux-offense in her tone. “None of the other diplomats have.”

“Alright,” Ferdinand said carefully. Turning toward the door, he pushed open the door and whispered under his breath, “Please don’t be an Almyran war horse.” Just because it wasn’t a gift from a diplomat didn’t mean that one of his friends wouldn’t leave him a surprise--Lorenz, especially, hinted at wanting to send Ferdinand something that would wow him.

Much to his relief (and mild disappointment, not that he would admit that to Amanda anytime soon), his office still had the same bouquets scattered about, as well as the collection of tins of tea tucked away in the corner. His reaction must have given him away, however, because he could hear Amanda’s amused giggles behind him.

Quickly shutting the door, Ferdinand made his way towards his desk, ready to continue the rest of his work. Perhaps he would take Amanda’s advice tonight and leave early; Edelgard had hinted at wanting to share dinner with him, Hubert, the Professor, and Dorothea in celebration of his birthday. A pity that Bernadetta wasn’t here, but the young woman wrote to him that she would be there within the next week after finishing up some things in Varley territory.

Caspar and Linhardt weren’t present either. From Caspar’s last letter--excitedly wishing him an early happy birthday on both of their behalf--the two were enjoying their travels across the continent. They were planning on crossing the sea soon to see more of the world, but promised to stop by Enbarr before doing so.

Ferdinand smiled as he reached out to grab one of the documents on his desk. He always felt warm thinking about his friends and comrades-in-arms. They had been through a lot during those five years of war and now, two years later, everyone was healing and finding themselves again outside of the constant battle field.

Instead of a piece of paper, however, Ferdinand felt his fingers touch an envelope. Turning his head, he saw that it indeed was one, resting innocently on the pile of documents Ferdinand had been reaching for. Next to it was a simple present, wrapping in a lovely blue paper and tied together at the top with a neat, white bow.

Tilting his head in confusion, Ferdinand grabbed the present and turned the envelope over. On the front was simply his name, written in neat cursive. Reaching out towards the present, he pulled the ribbon of the bow, causing it to become undone. Putting his hand inside, his hand made contact with a small, black box. His eyes widened as he pulled it out and, vaguely, he hoped it wasn’t a marriage proposal. He didn’t know how to respond to something like that from his anonymous gift giver! Cautiously, he opened it and gasped out loud when he saw what was inside.

Indeed, a ring was inside the box, however, Ferdinand felt his eyes get misty at _what_ ring was inside. “This is-- Mother’s ring?” Ferdinand asked out-loud, bringing it closer to his face. Upon examining it, Ferdinand felt himself choke up a bit. It was his mother’s ring! The very same one she sold in order to support their family during those first six months of Edelgard’s reign, when their family was having a hard time supporting themselves in the wake of his father’s arrest and the rebellions happening in Hrym. It was among the many pieces of jewelry she sold, but the one Ferdinand felt the most upset about seeing gone. It was, after all, originally his grandfather’s before he passed away and gave it to her, hoping that she would give it to her son someday.

Ferdinand felt certain that it would have been lost forever during these last six years. How in the world could someone have found it?

Frantically, Ferdinand decided that now was the time to open the envelope and read the card inside, hoping it would give him some insight on whoever was kind enough to reunite him with his family’s heirloom. Ripping it open, Ferdinand’s eyes widened as he recognized the handwriting inside.

_‘Dear Ferdinand,_

_It may come as a surprise to you, but it has been vexing me for the last few months on what type of present to give you. Somehow, tea, flowers, riding boots, and whatever else you could name didn’t seem enough to show my appreciation for you or celebrate the day of your birth. No doubt, countless others have thought of giving you those very things and I wished to be among those that thought a bit differently._

_As I recalled, it was one night during the war that you told me about this particular heirloom that your family needed to sell in order to support themselves. At the time, I didn’t feel much remorse for it, but thinking back on it now, I should have been more comforting towards you and the palpable heartbreak that showed on your face as you told me the tale. Even then it was distressing to see someone so optimistic and joyful look as upset as you did._

_I had some of my spies scour across the Empire for this--in hopes that reuniting you with this ring could make up for my callousness that night. As luck would have it, the ring has been well-taken care of here in Enbarr. It seems that during the war there weren’t many wealthy women traveling to Enbarr, hence why it stayed inside the jewelers for so long._

_I must admit there are… other reasons for why I felt the need to find this for you. Reasons I hope you can wait to hear me explain some other time._

_Thank you, Ferdinand, for all the hard work you do and your ability to keep our spirits up regardless of what is happening. I don’t say it very often, but I appreciate you greatly Ferdinand._

_May you have a happy birthday and the next year be filled with nothing but good tidings for you._

_Yours truly,_

_Hubert von Vestra_

Ferdinand sat there, reading the card over and over again, trying to decipher Hubert’s words. He felt a mix of emotions--joy, fondness, the urge to cry once more, hope--bubble up inside of him as the meaning sunk in. Hubert had… gone out of his way to find his family’s rings, hoping that it would make Ferdinand smile and just _be happy_ ; for reasons that Ferdinand hoped meant what it meant.

Worrying his lip, Ferdinand grabbed the handkerchief from his breast pocket and dabbed the corners of his eyes. Taking in a deep breath, Ferdinand slipped his gloves off and put the ring on his right hand. He held it out in front of him, admiring the way the orange gem in the middle twinkled in the light. Packing up his things early, Ferdinand made a mental note to write to his mother about the news, wanting to share in his delight. 

(He would make it a point to tell her that it was Hubert von Vestra that had found it. If he was right, then it would do them good to relieve his mother of any worries about the man. Her only encounter with him was when he came to the Aegir estate with guards and seized all of his father’s belongings in the man’s office and Ferdinand _knows_ that it didn’t leave a good first impression on her.)

Stepping out of his office, he gave one last quick nod to Amanda, who was beaming in her seat as she wished him a goodnight and another happy birthday.

As he walked down the hallway, Ferdinand felt lighter, happier than he had felt in a long time. He was looking forward to dinner tonight--enjoying good food and good wine with the people closest to him. He couldn’t wait to see the look on Hubert’s face either when he caught sight of the ring--glistening beautifully in the light of the imperial dining hall--and made another mental note to take him aside later to thank him personally for the thoughtful gift.

(If he snuck in a kiss on the man’s cheek that night too, away from the prying eyes of their friends and hoping to show that yes, Ferdinand felt the same way, then that seemed like a wonderful way to end the evening as well.)

**Author's Note:**

> btw Ferdinand did get an Almyran war horse sent to him about five days later. A joint gift from Lorenz and Claude!
> 
> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this! <3  
> You can also come talk to me over [@pandabuddha1](https://twitter.com/pandabuddha1) on Twitter about Ferdibert and Fire Emblem in general! <3


End file.
